A suspended prison sentence has been handed to man who sold Kodi boxes with illegal software.

Daniel David Brown imported the TV streaming boxes from China and added illegal software before selling them on, earning more than £370,000 in the process.

Running a successful business from his home in Llansamlet in South Wales, Brown not only sold the Kodi boxes but also helped customers to use them to access subscription channels and programmes for free.

Sky Sports was among the channels he helped users to access after selling the boxes on Facebook.

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Swansea Crown Court heard the 28-year-old’s wrongdoing came to light after broadcaster BSkyB made a complaint to South Wales Police about breach of copyright – sparking a joint investigation with Swansea Council, reports Wales Online.

Lee Reynolds, prosecuting, said it was impossible to put a figure on how much money media companies had lost through cancelled subscriptions and the avoidance of pay-to-view fees from people using Brown's boxes.

However, he said one figure was known - Brown’s company, Maiz Box Ltd, had a turnover of some £371,000 between June 2014 and March 2016.

Kodi box

Brown, of Peniel Green Road, Llansamlet, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to an offence of fraudulent trading under the Companies Act 2006 when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The court heard he was of previously clean character.

Mr Reynolds said Brown imported the Android boxes from China then installed illegal software on them which allowed users to access channels such as Sky Sports for free.

The court heard he then sold the boxes through Facebook and also offered “technical back-up” to customers.

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David Leathley, for Brown, said that while the boxes themselves had not been illegal, “it was to his shame” that his client had added the extra software.

Judge Peter Heywood said Brown was “industrious but misguided in some ways” and was "clearly skilled in the use of computer technology".

Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, and was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

The court was told he had agreed to pay Swansea Council some £19,996.08 towards the cost of his prosecution, so no orders were made under the Proceeds of Crime Act - but a repayment rate of £800-per-month was set.